Jerks in Baseball

#1

Just my opinion of course…

  1. The Coach-Dad: You see this guy all the way through high school, screaming instructions at his kid all the way his start or at bat. Its funny to think this guy spends money on instructors then tries to correct his kid even though he probably didnt make the Cal Ripken All Star team when he was 13.

  2. Moms at games: Your kid got hit in the thigh by a 55 mph fastball, please try to remember it wasnt a personal assault. Also, God love moms, they dont know how to cheer. Yelling “good idea” when Jr. throws a pitch a foot over the batters head on a 2-2 count is embarassing to everyone.

  3. Travel ball owner: Too many of these guys are all about stacking trophies in their case at their facility and not enough about developing young players.

  4. Dad: So many of these guys are out of touch with reality. Their kid is out of shape, slow footed, cant hit anything but a fastball and throw 40% of their pitches for strikes at average velocity, but, they are convince that Jr. is going pro. Dont put that kind of pressure on a 12 year old. Just let the kid learn the game, make friends, have fun. If he has the opportunity to play beyond high school that will become clear on its own.

  5. Scouts: Unimaginative tools, for the most part. I have watched college games surrounded by scouts. They all sit there dutifully tracking every pitch for the kid they are there to see and make jokes at the expense of the other players, like they are above it all somehow. So, one kid gest scouted 100 times by 50 scouts and everyone else gets ignored. Deciding whether to recommend a player with obvious skills by taken by “your” team in the 6th or 5th round doesnt make you some baseball guru. It makes you another ineffecient cog in a giant machine. Drop the attitude and put back the hair jell.

  6. High School Coaches: Most use outdated coaching approaches and are insecure and paranoid. This may partly deal with having to have so much contact and “input” from parents.

  7. Kid with eyeblack going down his Face: Kid, your like 12 years old and at this point not very good. Putting the eyeblack down the face then going 0-4 with 3 Ks makes you look like a tool.

  8. Parent who insists on covering their car with their kids name and number and Team: After about 10 years old I dont think your kid should be playing a sport to feel special, they should be doing it because they love it. Put away the paint and just drive your kid to game Tuesday night at the public park.

At some point, I have been guilty of # 1, 6, 8…live and learn.

#2

Very nice and definitely close to all those ho play competitive baseball

#3

That’s great. Spot one of these kids and you will also find numbers 1 and 2.
The parents are the real tools, especially those that compare “lil johnny” constantly to Bryce Harper.

#4

Here are several more who could be considered consummate jerks:
Umpires with inconsistent strike zones—or none at all to speak of. And if you even so much as question them, like “Where was that pitch?”, they’ll run you out of the game—and the manager too.
Pitchers with electric stuff—and no idea where the plate is. And when the manager goes out to the mound to take the pitcher out of the game, said pitcher bursts out crying like a baby that lost its bottle—or worse yet, flies into a rage and when he returns to the dugout takes it out on the water cooler, the bats, gloves, helmets—even another player!
Fans—and some of them are the worst of the lot. I remember a story about one outfielder who showed up for a game, and in the middle of the third inning some forty thousand screaming fans started throwing cucumbers, tomatoes and assorted other vegetables. No one knew who spread the word that all the fans should come to the game armed with plenty of cucumbers et al.—but the umpires were forced to call time in an effort to clear the field and ultimately had to forfeit the game to the opposition. BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue:

#5

TURN 22 said: “That’s great. Spot one of these kids and you will also find numbers 1 and 2.
The parents are the real tools, especially those that compare “lil johnny” constantly to Bryce Harper.”"

I agree. A buddy of mine (he is a young guy in his 20s) who coaches 9 and 10 year olds in Colorado made his team go to the bathroom and wash the eye black off of their faces before a game, told his guys to present themselves the right way. He also has a rule about no flat bills on his kids baseball caps, a cap should be bent properly…good to see a young coach with a nod to tradition.

I would add comparing a kid who is a soft tosser to Maddux. I get it, not everyone throws hard, including my kid. But, lets leave the 300+ game winning first ballot HOF guys out of the discussion at the little league field…by the way, Maddux was throwing heat when he was drafted.

On a similiar theme…how come no one brings up Babe Ruth when the fat kid is hanging out behind the dug out having a smoke between innings?

ZITA said: " Umpires with inconsistent strike zones—or none at all to speak of."

Again, agreed. The thing that really gets me is umps that dont reward a low strike zone. Not calling pitches over the plate at the knees is akin to punishing the pitcher for doing his job…get a clue. Also, a lot of high school umps (my kid is still pitching in high school) get fooled by breaking balls. You can see them give up on the pitch, particularly early in a game…they give up on the pitch nearly as much as a fooled batter does.

#6

Agreed. True for the curve ball. Especially true with a nasty slider

#7

[quote=“fearsomefour”]Just my opinion of course…

  1. The Coach-Dad: You see this guy all the way through high school, screaming instructions at his kid all the way his start or at bat. Its funny to think this guy spends money on instructors then tries to correct his kid even though he probably didnt make the Cal Ripken All Star team when he was 13.[/quote]
    1a) The Coach-Dad who gives his kid instruction using hand signs so the coach won’t know. :thumbsdown:

2a) Moms wearing out the most-used cliches. :puke1:

Even though they tell you “it’s all about the kids”. :dismay:

#8

I once coached a young man who had plenty of athletic ability but not much baseball experience. As a result he wasn’t playing any of the “up the middle” positions, mainly first and third base where his liability for error was diminished. The kid kind of had an edge to him, an attitude.

Then I met his father. The kid was playing third base and a ground ball skipped right through his legs. It was a predictable error and not terribly costly to the team at the time. The father. leaning on the fence, screamed at his son, “You Suck!” and I immediately felt my blood pressure rising.

My first words to the father were not those of an introductory nature. I admittedly used the word “jerk” and may have added a descriptive expletive for emphasis. Well…yeah I definitely did. Come to think of it…I also used hand signs, Roger. And I may have started the whole exchange with…“Good idea, Dad!”

#9

Good Deal Dino. Its nice to know there are more of us out there.

I once had the father of one of my pitchers thrown out of the park during a game for cursing at his son while he was on the mound. And yes the kid continued to play for me. His mom was glad somebody stood up to the jerk who had the most obvious case of little man syndrome I’ve ever seen.

I laugh every time I think about that. :lol:

#10

My dad was ‘that guy’ when I was a teenager. Climbing the fence, getting kicked, threatened by the police, you name it.

It is about the kids! It is about development, whether that is social or baseball - It (most assuredly) isn’t about the parents.

#11

The worst I had (while coaching football) was a guy who dressed in some sort of home made bird outfit, complete with cardboard wings with feathers tapped to them…he would run on the field and dance around when we scored (team was the Ravens). Finally (after several weeks) got the league to get him to stop it. Actually had a parent that would give his kid pep pills (about 4 of them) before games, these were 11 year old boys, told him if he didnt stop I would call CPS…I probably should have anyway, God knows what were in those pills. Also, had a coach in our league who would threaten the boys on the team if they messed up, threaten them with physical violence and cursing them out (he was coaching 8 year olds)…he got banned nationwide. Anyway, about 5% of the time the kids are a problem, the rest of the problems come from the parents, sad to say.

#12

Wow…

#13

That is crazy.

#14

That was during my first forey into coaching, several years back. To say it was disappointing is an understatement. When I went back to it briefly later I instituted several team rules that were written in stone for the players and parents alike at the first practice. Almost all of these related to parent behavior. Some of the parents were great, some were just nuts. I have noticed, speaking generally, it was worse in football than baseball. I used to complain about the umpires when my son was pitching. Nothing vulgar or over the top. The closest I came to snapping my bolts, so to speak, is when he got called for a balk because he didnt step off the rubber to throw over to first (he is left handed)…at least know the rules. He told me it bugged him and it embarassed him if I did it when he was pitching. The interesting thing is, even if it was encouraging, he perceived it as me “yelling” at him. What we say in public is not always what our kids are hearing. So, from that day forward when he took to the bump I almost always walk down one of the baselines and watch down there. It has become a little tradition. When he is in the pen getting loose I will walk past him to what has become my “lucky” spot, he will usually give me a nod now when I walk past. It has made the whole experience much more enjoyable for both of us. The lesson he taught me with that conversation was simple, he was playing, not me…keep my mouth shut and enjoy the game. Lesson learned.

#15

Kylejammers…

How did you deal with father when acted like that? Did it spoil the games for you or did sort of become immune to it after awhile? I was never out of control (getting threatened with the police being called is pretty crazy) but I am very glad my son set me straight pretty early on.

#16

That was all I knew - he is like that all the time. He always promoted me, you know? Bought me the gear I needed, went to every game, told me the truth. However, when I was 14 I just sort of assumed that playing professionally was a joke - Like never going to happen - so I just didn’t play the next year.

I wish that motivation would have been instilled rather than demanded - People just learn differently. I was 6’4" at 14, batted .600+ - It wouldn’t have been a stretch to imagine hard work paying off, but that hardly matters much now.

He is just pissed all the time so I was accustomed to it.

Now, I am 23 and throwing in the rain (into a net) - Just to keep my shoulder loose.

:lol:

#17

I’d love a 558 baseball cap but they’ve been out of stock for a few weeks now, any idea when they will be back on sale please?

#18

When you spammers stop polluting our site with this baloney…

#19

My son was playing in a large tournament in Las Vegas this past weekend, the fields were nice, the competition was good and everything (even the umps) was going fine…jerk free. Until their last game. They were playing at a very, very nice facility at a private school that has won several (5 I think) consecutive state titles. Anyway, the pitcher on the other team was having a bad go of it in the 1st inning. A guy in the crown (jean shorts and d-bag sunglasses) starts yelling at the coach to “give him the hook!!”, “manage your team and get him off the field!!”. He was so loud the umpire stopped the game and told him to stop…he finally did. I dont know if he was the pitchers father or just an jerky father of another player, but, I just cant imagine how embarassing that was to the kid on the hill. Later in the game, when I was talking to a coach from an out of state JC that was there looking for players, the parent of another kid on my sons team came up and announced that her son should be playing but wasnt because he was 5 minutes late…and because he was not playing there was nothing there for him to scout.
It just never ceases to amaze me. You stay classy baseball parents!!

#20

Wow! You certainly do find them all over. The worst of the worst. But here’s a story of how one of those worst was silenced by an outfielder.
This occurred in the early part of the last century, before the Black Sox scandal erupted. Shoeless Joe Jackson was in the outfield. It was a known fact that he could neither read nor write, and one particularly obnoxious fan was taking full advantage of it. Mr. Loudmouth, as we shall call him, was mercilessly ragging Jackson with shouts of “How do you spell ‘cat’?”, over and over and over ad nauseam, occasionally varying it with “How do you spell ‘illiterate’?” or even an obscenity. Jackson paid no attention to him—but then the sixth inning rolled around, bases loaded, one out, and the slugging outfielder came to bat. He promptly blasted a screaming line drive into the right-field corner, clearing the bases, and as he pulled into third he looked up at the stands and shouted at His Obnoxiousness, "Hey, Big Mouth, how do you spell ‘triple’?"
Not another word from Mr. Loudmouth for the rest of the game. Ahhh…what an XBH will do… :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: